Flame
by Marineko
Summary: [yaoi, AU] this is actually a crossover fic with LJ Smith's Night World.... hope it's not to confusing... please r/r!!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Flame  
Part: 1/?  
Author: Black Rainbow  
Genre: Crossover, AU, yaoi  
Status: ongoing, unedited  
Archive: here, pinkbutterflies  
Disclaimer: SD belongs to Takehiko Inoue. This is a crossover with the Night World, which was created by L.J. Smith. I'm not sure if I'm using original NW characters yet....   
Comments: erm. characters will probably be OOC, as this chapter was originally written to be a NW fic. but then I couldn't continue it, and started thinking of making it a crossover, so I just changed the names and some descriptions....  
  
As I'm not sure if anyone here reads the Night World series, a brief explanation: The Night World is like a secret organization of vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, and witches who live among humans. The rulers of the Night World are called Elders, and each race has their own council, as well as a joint council of Elders from all races. There are 2 main rules in the Night World, punishable by death:  
  
1. never fall in love with a human  
2. never let a human know about the Night World  
  
(In the NW, humans were considered as 'vermins')  
  
In the witch community, there are two main circles: Circle Twilight and Circle Midnight. A witch chooses his/her circle when he/she reaches 18. But somewhere in the series another Circle was created, called Circle Daybreak. This circle accepts not only witches, but other night people and humans as well. Their mission is to make the Night People and humans live in harmony (or something like that).  
  
THis fic is meant to be set somewhere near the end of the series, so there's a lot more.... but Flame was created by me, and that as well as the other stuff will be revealed in future chapters... it's meant to be that way.  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
Hanamichi walked to his next class with his eyes downcast, his long bright red hair falling everywhere, covering all of his face so that no one could tell if they were looking at the back or the front of his head. He didn't need to see to know that everyone else within a radius of him was backing up with fear or hatred or maybe even disgust. He didn't need to hear their whispers to know what they were saying, but he heard them anyway.   
  
"... a whole town!"  
"... I heard last fall..."  
"... witchcraft."   
  
He forced herself to walk on. Just one week in the new school and it already happened. Why did he even bother to move? Why did he beg his aunt to let him change schools, try to be normal? It was futile. Everyone thought -   
  
"Ow! Hey, watch you're going, kid!"   
  
He had bumped into a brick wall. Startled, he looked up just enough so that the tiny tip of his nose could be seen amidst the mess that was his hair.   
  
It was a boy. He was the most gorgeous boy Hanamichi had ever seen, although that wasn't saying much - he hadn't seen a lot of gorgeous boys. The boy in front of him was probably the same height as him, but his hair (that seemed to be spiked in a gravity defying manner) made him look much taller. He didn't look old enough to get away with calling him a kid, but he was too surprised to say anything. He wondered who was this gorgeous boy who didn't have the sense to stay away from him.   
  
/Didn't anyone tell him how -dangerous- I am?/   
  
The boy smiled, and the thought faded away. Something in his stomach went flipside. He suddenly couldn't breathe.   
  
"I-"   
  
Great. Now he couldn't speak. /Well, that ought to confirm everyone's opinion that I'm really a retard./   
  
"You're Sakuragi Hanamichi, aren't you?" the boy asked. His voice was light, musical.   
  
Hanamichi nodded slowly, backing away. The boy kept smiling at him - his hair made Hanamichi felt somewhat shorter, though he knew it wasn't true - like he was amused or something. Hanamichi wished he would stop smiling. It disturbed him, and looking at the boy's smile makes his bones tingle all over like he just had been zapped with something white-hot and electric, and it -hurts-.   
  
"Hey, don't go. I've been looking for you. My name's Sendoh Akira," the other boy offered gently. Hanamichi didn't trust his voice. Something in him, the something that made him do terrible things, told him that Sendoh was not a gentle sort of person. Sendoh held out his hand. Hanamichi just looked at his outstretched hands until the other boy dropped them and raised his eyebrow questioningly at him.   
  
"What do you want?" he asked defensively. He may avoid confrontation, but it doesn't mean that he couldn't defend himself if he wanted to.   
  
"Ah." Sendoh smiled again. "I want to talk about Flame," he said lazily, in a low undertone.   
  
The white-hot feeling that was building in Hanamichi evaporated, leaving a rush of cold panic freezing his insides and under his skin. "I'm not . . ." he faltered. "I -didn't- -"   
  
Giving up, he backed away further and started to walk away.   
  
"Don't you want to be able to control it?" Sendoh called out. Several students that were trying to avoid Hanamichi gave him strange looks.   
  
Hanamichi's heart stopped, the hope building in him so fast that it was like he suddenly found himself at the edge of a high cliff and he didn't know if he was going to fall or not. He turned around fast, his hair flying in all directions, and Sendoh saw a barely visible flash of intense brown under the red hair. But Hanamichi's eyes were quickly invisible again, his face hiding under the hair. "I could . . . control it?" he asked wonderingly.   
  
Sendoh's smile went broader, but something about him still disturbed Hanamichi. "We can talk later. Say . . . at Escape Fantasy at 4:oo p.m" He then turned and walked out of the hall walking with a grace a dancer would kill for.   
  
Hanamichi realised at that moment what was disturbing her. He was inhumanly beautiful. And although his smile radiated a warmth that shot through Hanamichi like electric, his eyes were icily, chillingly cold.   
  
})i({   
  
Escape Fantasy, a small cafe that was rarely frequented by the locals, was exactly that to Sakuragi. An escape. From his life. From everyone. From what he was.   
  
Once he yearned that one day he would be able to be normal. That he would have friends, people that cared for him. That he would be able to forget his weird flashes, his visions. But they weren't the only things that was strange about him. He found that out last fall. Now he knew that there was no way that he could ever be normal, and he only wanted one thing; to be left alone.   
  
It was when he was thinking this that he heard Sendoh's polite cough, letting him know he wasn't alone anymore. He looked up. He knew that all Sendoh could see was the tip of her nose but he still felt too exposed.   
  
"You said I could control it," he said softly.   
  
Taking a seat opposite him, Sendoh said, "first, let me let you in on a little secret." He leaned over the table and spoke so quietly that Hanamichi had to do the same to hear. "It's called the Night World."   
  
})i({   
  
"I'm supposed to believe that I'm actually a -real- witch?"   
  
"Right."   
  
"And you're a vampire."   
  
Sendoh nodded. "But what -" Hanamichi shook his head. There were more important things to ask. "But how does that help me control this . . . this thing I do?"   
  
"Control?" Sendoh laughed a little. "It's too powerful for even you to control, and we think you have the life-force of the whole Inner Circle put together."   
  
He frowned. "You said -"   
  
Sendoh raised a hand. "-You- said it. -I- didn't." He smiled coldly. "What you -could- do, however, is use this power of yours to help us."   
  
"Why?"   
  
Sendoh just looked straight at him, with a 'I think you know why' look in his eyes. Hanamichi swallowed, hard. "But I don't -want- to do anything! I'm not like that. I'm not - "   
  
"- evil? Hanamichi, you destroyed a whole town and killed God knows how many innocent people." He offered another cold smile, and continued thoughtfully. "Including your -"   
  
"I didn't -want- to do it," Hanamichi whispered, pushing back all his feelings. His grief wasn't going to undo what he had done. /Sendoh's right, you know/ a voice said inside him. /You -are- evil. How else could you have done what you did?/ "Can't any of the witches help me?" he asked desperately.   
  
Sendoh chuckled. "The witches are no longer a part of the Night World, Hanamichi. They've seceded. Except for the darkest ones from Circle Midnight. Anyway, they would -kill- you if they know, you know. What you have done. What you could do. You're still like a walking time-bomb waiting to go off. You're too powerful, too destructive, and to Circle Daybreak - that's where all the other witches belong now - you are the enemy."   
  
- tbc - 


	2. Chapter 2

FLAME (2/?) By Black Rainbow Crossover NW/Slam Dunk fanfiction. Disclaimer: I do not own Slam Dunk, or the Night World. If there are parts you don't understand feel free to leave a comment and ask, because I really don't know what is "general information" about supernatural stuff, and what is "strictly Night World" things anymore. Blah. :) Anyway, I'm not using the whole actual Night World set up. Just taking some stuff, and changing other things. So it might be confusing. Don't be afraid of asking me questions, or demanding me to be more coherent, heh.  
  
PART 2  
  
Kogure's Pharmacy. From across the street, it looks like a normal medium- sized square building. It is virtually unnoticeable; its colors are drab, and the window displays aren't exactly eye-catching. In fact, the average person would probably just walk by it without a glance.  
  
Rukawa Kaede is not the average person.  
  
In fact, he wasn't a human being at all, in the strictest sense of the word. He was part-lamia [1], part witch. and it was thanks to his witch mother that he was stuck in the middle of something that he could care less about. He would rather be on the side of the Night People; they were undoubtedly stronger, more willing to fight. But because he was part-witch (and on his mother's side to top that), he had to follow the decisions of the Inner Circle.  
  
Thinking of this, he sighed, pushing open the doors to the pharmacy. His mother had insisted he go to the meeting on her behalf. Why did she have to be so damn political? Rukawa wondered. He looked around the dimly lit pharmacy, wondering if the Kogures ever made money from the pharmacy.  
  
"Unity," a soft voice spoke, startling him. He thought he was alone. He searched for the source of the voice, and saw a boy at the end of the counter. The boy was shorter than him (then again, a lot of people were) and wore glasses, but it did not hide the gentle, searching look of in his eyes.  
  
"Unity," Rukawa murmured the greeting. The boy smiled, almost in relief, Rukawa noted amusedly. In the old days 'unity' had been a witch greeting, something you say to welcome other witches. Now, it seems to be a way of determining to whom one's loyalty stands, be they witch, vampire, shifter. and even vermin.  
  
Humans.. Rukawa reminded himself. They are humans. His mother had been a human-sympathizer, which never really boded well with Rukawa.  
  
"I'm Kogure Kiminobu," the boy at the counter said in the same soft voice.  
  
Circle Daybreak. how will the Daybreakers win against the Night World if they are all so. gentle? Rukawa thought, disgusted. "Rukawa Kaede," he said shortly. His mother had told him about Kogure Kiminobu before. what was it that she said? 'A witch originally from Circle Twilight. and an old soul.' If his mother were to be believed, Kogure's soul would be about eighty-nine years old now.  
  
Kogure brightened. "Rukawa Eiko's son!" he said, almost reverently. Rukawa remained silent. "We are honored to have you with us."  
  
Rukawa just shrugged. Kogure then led him into another room, which was lit only by a few candles. "Please take a seat," Kogure said. There was a huge table with eight chairs. At a corner of the room, there was a sofa and a loveseat. A boy was sprawled over the loveseat. The boy looked up curiously at them. He was obviously a vampire, but Rukawa sensed something else in him. He must have been a half-breed, too.  
  
"Hisashi-kun," Kogure said. "This is Rukawa Kaede. Rukawa, this is Mitsui Hisashi."  
  
"Rukawa Eiko's son?" Mitsui asked, raising his eyebrows. Rukawa nodded. "Well." Mitsui looked at Rukawa thoughtfully. Rukawa ignored him and sat at the other end of the room.  
  
  
  
Half-an-hour later, Rukawa and Mitsui were joined by Miyagi Ryota (a wolf- shifter), Jin Soichiro (a witch), Miyazaki Heiji (a human) [2], Fujima Kenji (a vampire), Kiyota Nobunaga (a coyote-shifter) and Ayako (a witch). Rukawa knew Ayako, of course; he saw her whenever there was an Inner Circle meeting at his house.  
  
Kogure came into the room after locking the front doors of the pharmacy. He closed the door behind him and smiled. "As you can see, we have a new face here today. Minna, meet Rukawa Kaede, son of Rukawa Eiko."  
  
Almost everyone turned to look at Rukawa curiously. Ayako smiled warmly at Rukawa, knowing how much he must hate the attention.  
  
"Who's Rukawa Eiko?"  
  
Heads turned towards the person who asked the question. "Heiji." Kiyota started, almost exasperatingly. "How dense ARE you?"  
  
"Heiji is new to Circle Daybreak," Fujima told Rukawa. "He just discovered the Night World last month, and haven't really absorbed what's going on yet."  
  
"Rukawa's mother is in the Inner Circle of witches, like me," Ayako explained to Miyazaki.  
  
"And she's really special," Jin added. "You know how we have a Maiden, Mother and Crone in the Inner Circle who have special responsibilities among the witches?" Heiji nodded, blue eyes wide, trying to absorb the information. "Well. Ayako is the Maiden of the witches - you know that, don't you? Rukawa Eiko is the Mother of the witches."  
  
"Oh." Heiji smiled widely. "I get it. Pleased to meet you, man."  
  
"This is the closest you get to royalty. and that's what you say to him?" Kiyota muttered under his breath.  
  
"Can you all just shut up?" Mitsui said mildly. "The meeting is NOT about his mother." Everyone was quiet after that. Kogure smiled at Mitsui, who nodded encouragingly. "Go on."  
  
"Uhm. Okay. uhm, everyone here knows about the prophecies, right? The first prophecy is sort of vague, about the blue fire."  
  
"In blue fire, the final darkness is banished. In blood, the final price is paid," [3] Ayako recited quietly.  
  
"That's it. A lot of the Elders think that it's about a final battle, between the humans and the Night People. Some are saying that it means the end of the world. The second prophecy tells us that there are four powers that will be able to stop. whatever that's coming. But. 'four less one and darkness triumphs.'"  
  
"That means we have to get all four of the wild powers, or else we're doomed," Mitsui muttered.  
  
"The third prophecy," Kogure continued, "gives us clues on how to find the four wild powers."  
  
"So what's the problem?" Heiji asked.  
  
"The problem," Mitsui started, "is that while we want the wild powers on our side to stop the whatever that's coming, the Night World Elders want them on their side to make sure that it happens. The problem, Heiji, that Ayako had a vision recently that indicated that the Night World already has one wild power on their side."  
  
"Four less one." Jin murmured.  
  
".and darkness triumphs," Miyagi finished. He looked disturbed.  
  
"Damn."  
  
"The reason Ayako and I decided to call this meeting," Kogure said, his voice raising to be heard over the room, "is because there is a new prophecy."  
  
Silence. Everyone just shut up, wanting to listen to what he had to say.  
  
"Four less one, but the white flame remains, In white flame, everything is destroyed."  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I don't really know for sure." Kogure admitted.  
  
"I think. I think that it means that there is another power that is stronger than the four wild powers combined. This means that this power alone could achieve what we would otherwise need the four wild powers to do. But. I think this power may be too dangerous to wield. It, this person, only exists as a last resort."  
  
"The white flame. the power. is a person?" "Duh. If the wild powers are people, why wouldn't the white flame be a person?"  
  
"So now all we need to do is to find this power?"  
  
"No," Fujima muttered, rolling his eyes. "That is not all we have to do. This is just to ensure ourselves a fighting chance in the final battle. In other words, this is just the beginning."  
  
  
  
  
  
Hanamichi looked forlornly out his room window. Life hadn't exactly been fun. He had agreed to join Sendoh and the Night World, because he felt like it was the only thing he could do. He quit school, left his family, and was moved to a mansion belonging to Maki Shinichi, supposedly one of the Night World Elders. He had never met Maki, and didn't really want to.  
  
Every day he was either shuffled to the lab where the few witches that remained with the Night World would examine him, trying to find the source of his "power", and then he would be taken to another place for training, to test out the things he could do. Nothing had happened, so far. It was almost like he was a normal person. He didn't seem to be able to do whatever he did at Flame.  
  
His hair was now tied back in a braid, and he was thinking of cutting it shorter. He wondered what Sendoh would say.  
  
Hanamichi shook his head. He haven't seen Sendoh since he started to live in the mansion. He wondered what Sendoh was doing. He wondered what Sendoh's position in the Night World was. He wondered why he always found himself thinking about Sendoh. He told himself it was because Sendoh was the first person who actually talked to him after what happened at Flame, but another thought came into his mind.  
  
He was so beautiful. and I feel like I've known him all my life.  
  
tsuzuku -  
  
[1] lamia = a kind of vampire. In the NW, there are vampires that are made into vampires, and vampires that are born as vampires. The lamia are the second kind.  
  
[2] OC. :p he looks like Sendoh without the spiky hair.  
  
[3] all prophecies except the fourth one belongs to Lisa Jane Smith. 


End file.
